1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to fishing line release devices commonly used to place a fishing bait in desired remote locations relative to a fishing boat. These devices are used to affix the fishing line to downrigger balls below the water's surface or to outriggers which hold the line out and away from the fishing boat.
2. Descrioption of Prior Art
A fishing line release device which can be used with both downriggers and outriggers, holds the fishing line in place without chafing, offers simple adjustable tension control, performs in both salt and fresh water fishing applications, has no corrosive parts holds the fishing line in place via friction gripping jaws and can be operated easily with one hand would be preferred by most fishermen.
Heretofore a variety of line release devices have been proposed. Typical release devices are seen in the U.S. patents of Shaw, U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,933; Mander, U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,681; Klieves, U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,126; Weaver, U.S. Pat. No. 3,026,646; May, U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,973; Fitzsimmons, U.S. Pat. No. 2,749,649; and Riley, U.S. Pat. No. 2,605,568. An additional devise which does not currently have U.S. patent numbers has been proposed by S/K Products, PO Box 0630, Muskegon, MI 49443-0630 and sold under the product name Universal Release.
The friction gripping jaw type release clip typically produces chafing on the fishing line when pulled free from the release jaws, resulting in line breaks and reduced line stress capacity. Many of these jaw type release devices have little or no jaw tension adjustment limiting their range of fishing applications. This type of release device uses spring and other corrosive devices subject to damage by marine environments to achieve jaw tension. The jaw type release is normally biased toward a closed position with the tension producing spring eventually losing its mechanical ability.
One friction gripping jaw type release by Shaw, U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,933 requires the use of multiple springs to achieve a range of jaw tension. As spring capacity increases the devise becomes increasingly difficult to manually operate the jaws. This limited range of line holding ability requires a different spring combination for varied fishing applications.
Another friction gripping jaw type release, manufactured by S/K Products, uses a ratchet device located at opposite ends of the gripping jaws and an oblique rotating shaft assembly holding two parallel arms in close proximity to vary jaw tension. This type of multiple tension control system produces a complicated two stage tension adjustment, requiring two distinct operations to vary jaw tension and a separate tool such as a coin or screwdriver inserted into the shaft receptacles by which to rotate the oblique shaft.